


Stuck in a Loop

by ohpleaselarry



Category: Septiplier - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF, jacksepticeye, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Crying, Death, Denial, Fluff, Hidden Feelings, I fucking hate tagging, Love, M/M, Sadness, Septiplier - Freeform, Septiplier away, Shh, Smut, Sucked Into Video Game, blowjob, but I did anyway lol, but it's okay they respawn, enjoy lol, fortnite, good bit of kissing, handjob, just read it idk how to tag properly, not even really enough to tag it, not that much tho, sort of like jumanji with more feels, they die bc it's a game, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-02-10 12:44:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12912180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohpleaselarry/pseuds/ohpleaselarry
Summary: Mark and Jack get sucked into the video game Fortnite, and have to win to get back to the real world.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was literally a dream I had, and I ended up writing this in chuncks over a few days at about 3AM each day, so if something is off just lemme know and I'll fix it haha I'm tired.

"So there's this game..." Mark watches as a smile spreads on Jack's face, eyes crinkling at the edges as they do.   
"Yeah?"   
"The other guys are busy, but it's been a while since just you and I played a game, huh?"   
They hardly need to say anything else. Mark watches Jack's eyes light up in excitement, and it's decided. 

 

Mark's been playing the game, Fortnite, for an hour before they facetimed, so he gives Jack a small run down of what he knows so far as Jack installs it. It doesn't take too long, and they switch from FaceTime to discord and get their recordings set up. Mark is excited, as he usually is when they play together. It's been a while since it's just been the two of them, and he knows the fans will be excited as well.   
They do the audio sync clap, and they are ready to go.   
"Okay, so are we doing battle royale? That's the one that's like pubg, right?" Jack asks as they sit in the menu. Mark confirms, and they get their characters in the same party.   
"Let's go duo."   
Everything seems to be working out. Mark checks again to make sure the recording and audio is all working, and they click ready.   
"Is friendly fire on?" Jack asks as it loads, and Mark raises an eyebrow at his camera.   
"Why're you asking, Jack? You have a plan?"   
"What? Nooo, I don't know what you're talking about!"   
Mark is about to laugh, when he starts to feel dizzy. He reaches over next to his desk and pulls a stool over to him and sits down. He did go to the gym earlier, and he hadn't eaten much, so he figures that's why. He's glad he decided to start keeping a stool in here. He wonders if he should just go back to a sitting desk again.   
"I need some water. I just got nauseous out of nowhere." Jack says.   
"Shit, me too. That's so weird." Mark says. He closes his eyes and presses his fists to his temples as a wave of dizziness hits him.   
He feels a shift, and before he opens his eyes, he knows something's changed. He's standing again, he can hear footsteps around him, he's definitely outside, and he's holding something.   
"What--" he opens his eyes, and sees people. Not just normal people, though, but the Fortnite characters. He instantly realises he is in the loading screen before the party bus. The air feels weird, almost like he could breathe underwater if he wanted to. He feels a bit invincible, but at the same time, he feels insane. What the hell is happening?  
"Jack?" He calls out, heart racing. Looking around, he sees the floating letters of Jack's name bouncing slightly. It's so weird to see them like that. He reaches out towards the letters, but his fingers just go through them. There's a building and a field between him and Jack.   
Mark is rushing towards Jack's name before he even can register what is really happening. He just needs to know that he's not alone. It's such a weird feeling, because Mark doesn't feel like he's dreaming, but how does he know that he isn't?  
There's that telling honk that warns the 10 second count down until the party bus and Mark just keeps running, realises Jack is running too and that's why his name is bouncing. It's sort of a cool feeling, to run and not feel short of breath or aches. He feels like he could run forever, and he silently thanks the devs that they didn't put a stamina drain into the game.   
Mark's almost to the end of the field, and Jack rounds the building, and all Mark sees is a flash of green hair and then he's in the bus, the countdown over.   
It's incredibly crowded, obviously, with nearly 100 people in a normal sized bus. Mark sees Jack's name somewhere in front of him but he's not sure how to get to him. There's strobe lights flashing and everyone is dancing.   
People start to jump out of the bus by the dozen it seems like, and Mark can't really tell if Jack has jumped or not. The lights are bright in here. It is a party bus, after all.   
They must've waited too long, because then Mark is skydiving, and he realises they are at the edge of the map.   
It's a feeling unlike any other, to feel the wind whipping your face as you plummet towards the most vibrant land ever. He's never skydived in real life, but he feels like he's either going to die or he's about to take over the world. Maybe both? All he can do is yell as he falls.   
His parachute automatically equips when he gets too close to the ground, and Mark looks to his left, where he sees in the distance the silhouette of Jack hanging from his parachute. He watches as the boy lands and doesn't move at all.   
Somehow, Mark manages to work his parachute so that he's floating towards Jack. The ground is getting closer and closer, but Mark covers a good bit of ground, and realises Jack's landed on the roof of a building. Some sort of little gas station. Mark hasn't played the game enough to really know where they are, and he's not exactly sure how to get his map out without a mouse and keyboard. He lands about twenty feet from the gas station, his pick automatically falling into his hands. It's surprisingly light, even though Mark always thought it would be heavy.   
"Jack?!" He calls towards the roof, getting no response.   
Jack hasn't move an inch since he landed, and Mark knows he has to build a ramp to get to him. Even though he feels like he's about to pass out from the situation as a whole, he has to make sure Jack is okay before he can freak out about somehow teleporting into a fucking video game.   
He hits the few trees in the area then runs back over to the gas station, feeling like he's on top of the world. No shortness of breath. He could chop down a forrest.   
Opening the entrance door, Mark finds a pistol and some ammo, and picks them up, his pick disappearing from his hands. As he holds the gun, he wonders how they are going to get out of here. Do they have to die? Do they have to win? Will it hurt if they get shot? Mark decides to pretend it's all a dream. He wants to roll into a ball and just take a breath, but Jack is motionless and not responding.   
Mark's legs feel a bit like jello, but he runs back outside and stands next to the wall of the building and wonders how to build.   
As he wonders, out of nowhere it's there, a ramp, and he hears the noise it makes as it builds, and Mark concludes that he just has to think what he wants, no pressing buttons. The dream theory starts to make more sense.   
He doesn't pause long to think about it.   
Rushing up the ramp and jumping over the ledge, Mark finds Jack in the centre of the roof. There's a shield potion in one of the corners, but Jack is hugging his knees to his chest, and he seems to be hyperventilating a bit. He looks at Mark with the most scared expression he's ever seen, eyes wide as saucers, and Mark remembers Jack's fear of heights.   
He rushes over and kneels down next to him, legs sort of giving out. Now that he knows Jack is alive and okay, Mark can feel his own fear seeping in.   
"We're in the game." He says, stating the obvious, and pulls Jack into a hug because he doesn't know what else to do. He's not scared of heights, but that skydive was terrifying, so he can't imagine how Jack is feeling as someone who actually has a fear of it.   
"Hey, we're okay. You're on the ground." Mark says, and Jack takes short stuttering breaths and clings onto Mark's shirt like a lifeline. He's shaking a bit. There's a noise, the one that lets them know that the storm is marked on the map now.   
"The circle." Jack manages to say, and in front of Mark's eyes appears the map, just as he wishes he could see it. He sees their two little arrows, and they aren't that far away from the circle, but they do only have two minutes until the storm starts to shrink.   
"Are you okay?" Mark asks, and Jack nods, even though he's clearly shaken up. He's paler than his usual pale, and his hands are clenched into fists.   
"It was really...high up. Fast. We need to go. What is that?" He points over at the potion. Mark leans over to it and grabs it, handing it to the irishman.   
"It gives you shield. Here, it might make you feel more secure...or something." He shrugs and hands it to Jack, who drinks it. Light extends from his body as the shield activates. It's sort of pretty.   
The boy presses his fists to his eyes and takes deep breaths. Mark just keeps an arm around him and wishes he could help more.   
"Okay. We need to go. I don't think dying is the way to get back to the real world. I can't believe this is fucking happening."   
Mark helps him stand up. They are really close together, and they both seem to realise that, but neither of them pull away.   
The sound of gunshots in the far distance seems to really help. Jack blinks and steps away from Mark, heading over to the ramp and hopping over the ledge. To get to the circle, they have to go more towards the centre, so they start the run. Mark holds his pistol ready as they run, paranoid that someone's going to shoot.   
"How do we get out of the game?" Jack asks, looking around as they run, seeming to be checking for people as well.   
"I don't know, but we need to get you a gun." Mark says, and Jack agrees. On the way to the circle, they find a few little shacks where they both get a set of bandages but no gun for Jack. They make it to the edge of the circle just as the storm shrinks to almost halfway in.   
"What's the strategy? What do we do?" Jack asks, eyebrows furrowed together. They slow down to just a bit of a jog. He seems to be better now, more focused on staying alive then what just happened. Mark can relate. He feels a bit sick to the stomach, but he would rather live.   
"I haven't played this much. Um...we should probably get higher ground but..." he trails off, and Jack's jaw clenches.   
"Let's do it. Whatever you think will work. Face my fears right?" He laughs a bit, though he still looks terrified.   
Mark looks at the map as they run. The circle is hard to predict, but now that it's shrunk a bit, he figures the mountain in the centre will probably work. If not, they can move again.   
They are almost to it, when Mark spots someone running towards them. He's going more towards their left, but he finds it hard to believe that the guy doesn't see them.   
Mark takes Jack's wrist and yanks them into the nearest safe spot, one of those 1x1 little shacks. He shuts the door, and thanks god that there's only one window, so he only has to watch two spots.   
"Wha--"  
"There's a guy headed towards us." Mark says, holding a finger to his lips to signal to be quiet. It's not terribly cramped, but they have to stand nearly flush together in a corner to be out of eyesight of the window.   
Jack's pick is in the way, so he holds his bandages instead.   
If this were a normal situation, it would probably be super gay. Jack backed into a corner, Mark's back against his chest. One of Jack's hands clenched nervously in Mark's shirt. Mark's sweating a bit. They may just be about to die, and of course this is all he can think about.   
Footsteps approach the shack, and Mark feels like he can't breathe. He holds his gun pointed at the door. Even though they are out of sight of the window, they are standing directly next to the door opening, so even a slight peek in and they would see them.   
Mark listens closely. He hasn't played the game too much, and definitely never had this much weighing on it. He can hear the guy switching weapons, and stepping around the shack. Mark doesn't know what the guy's doing.   
Suddenly, Mark wonders what would happen if they died. Would they die forever? Was what he considers real life all a dream and this is real life?  
It's quiet for a minute, then a footstep right by the window.   
Then there's the slightest tink noise. Nobody needs much video game experience to know what that sound means.   
Mark opens the door next to them and shoves Jack out before he even has time to think about what he's doing. He watches Jack fall out of the shack just before the grenade explodes.   
It hurts.   
God, does it hurt.   
But he doesn't yell. It's the kind of pain that makes it feel almost like there's no pain at all, if that makes any sense.   
His vision is blurry, and then he's being pulled back to the corner by his armpits and the door is being shut.   
Jack's shield is out now, and his health is down by ten, but he's okay. Mark knows the guy is still outside, though, and who knows how many grenades he has.   
Mark gives Jack his gun and ammo, and the boy takes it but doesn't leave.   
"How do I revive?" He asks breathlessly, sweat glistening at his hairline. He's always been attractive, Mark isn't embarrassed to admit that, but he looks different somehow. Maybe it's the vibrant colours of the game. Maybe it's the fact that Mark's health is steadily dropping. Maybe it's the fact that Jack's eyes are wide in panic and even though he has a terrified look on his face, Mark never really noticed how beautiful his eyes are.   
"Get out of here. H-he might have another..." Jack's shaking his head before Mark's even finished his sentence. He runs a hand through his hair and takes Mark's hand.   
"I'm not leaving you. I can't do this alone. How the fuck do I revive?!" He asks, and Mark doesn't know. He supposes it's the same way he built. Just thinking it. Then again, wouldn't he be healing by now?  
Mark feels his eyes fluttering. He can't feel anymore pain. He just feels numb. He supposes it's the shock. His health steadily drops the longer he's down.   
"Hey, no, Mark, please stay with me." Jack says, shaking him. Mark can vaguely hear the footsteps outside. His eyes close.   
Then, he feels himself coming back. His vision slowly clears. After a few seconds, he feels good again. His health is low, but he doesn't feel like he's dying.   
Jack's hand is on his cheek. Their faces are really close. There seems to be some sort of reviving power emitting from Jack's hand on his cheek.   
"I found out how to revive." He says, grinning. Mark can't help but grin back. Maybe it's because this whole situation is fucking nuts and he thinks he's losing his mind, but maybe it's because Jack has a very infectious smile.   
It doesn't last long, because then the door opens and there's a flurry of gunshots. 

Mark blinks, and he feels invincible again. The sound of footsteps around him are loud, and he can see Jack's name across a few fields from him.   
They are back in the loading map before the party bus.   
With a sigh of relief, Mark realises that they can restart. They don't die forever.   
He then remembers they are going to have to skydive again.   
Mark just stands there and waits, sees that Jack seems to be doing the same.   
By the time he remembers he could pull out his map and place a pin, they are in the party bus. It's too damn dark and full of strobe lights on the party bus to see anything, so he just sighs and waits for the doors to open.   
When they do, he waits until a lot of people have jumped out, and he just goes for it. It's just as terrifying as the first time, but he manages to land at a random house next to a mountain somewhere in the middle of the map. Jack didn't jump out at the same time, so he's a bit away, but he's not far.   
Mark does a quick run through in the house, finds a few pistols and a shotgun. It's good enough. He isn't too picky. He doesn't want to leave Jack alone. Sure, the Irishman could survive on his own, but Mark isn't so sure he himself could, not without someone there to lean on.   
He works quick, running towards Jack, who thankfully landed in the circle, while at the same time going through the little houses and shacks he passes so he can get some good weapons. It's not the longest run, but Mark has a bit of time to think about what's going on. If and when they win, what will they do when they get back to the real world? Will they tell anyone? Will they develop ptsd and never be able to play games again? What job would Mark get? How would he make money? He'd have to go back to college.   
He ends up just more panicked than before.   
Jack hasn't moved, so by the time Mark gets to him, the circle has shrunk and they need to get to it. Jack's in one of the little shacks again, crouched in front of the window holding an assault rifle at guard.   
"You okay?" Mark asks, crouching next to him and giving him a pistol and some bandages. Jack takes them with a thanks.   
"Yeah. I knew you jumped but it took me a minute to get the balls to jump as well. I thought about running to you but I don't have much experience with shooting guns in real life so I don't think I'll be the best shot."  
Mark motions for him to move, and they start the jog to the circle, watching for people.  
"It's fine. It's not that hard to get used to. Most of my experience is with nerf guns or paint ball guns and stuff, so I feel you, but I think we will be fine. I also think the only way to get back home is to win."   
They reach the edge of the circle. It wasn't too long of a run. They head up the side of a small mountain at the edge and crouch by the trees at the top, scouting the area.   
"I'm terrified. I feel like I'm dreaming but at the same time it's so real." Jack says, and his hands are shaking a bit where he's holding his gun. Mark guesses the skydiving is what is causing it. Jack is surprisingly doing okay, though. He's proud of him, even though Mark isn't doing much better.   
"I thought I was dreaming too until the grenade exploded. It didn't hurt for long before everything got numb but it definitely hurt. Doesn't hurt like that in dreams."  
Jack chews at his lip. Mark tries to keep an eye on the area, but can't stop looking at him. He guesses it's because Jack's green hair looks really vibrant in the game lighting...or something.   
"I wish I could be reacting as well as you are. I only play video games, I can't survive one in real life."   
Mark places a hand on his arm.   
"Hey, we're going to be fine. We can win easy. We've got the high ground right now."   
Jack nods, but it doesn't last long, because there's the loud bang of a sniper rifle, and then Jack's on the ground, knocked.   
Mark doesn't look towards where the shots came from, and he doesn't think to shoot back, instead, his instinct is to stand up and drag Jack behind the tree and then work on reviving him.   
As soon as he places a hand on Jack's cheek, he understands why the boy's eyes were so wide and why he started to grin as he did the same for him.   
The feeling is indescribable. Everything feels blurry, and Mark can almost feel Jack's heartbeat, his joy, his fears, his soul, everything. He feels like they are one.   
Jack looks at him and places a hand over his on his cheek.   
"Jack..." he trails off, and laughs, not sure why he does, but Jack laughs too.   
"I know right." He says, and then Jack's health is back to normal. Low, but he's not knocked down anymore. He drops his hand from Jack's cheek. The feeling lessens, but is still there.   
"I feel like..." He let's out a shaky exhale, and Jack nods.   
"Like you're low-key in love with me? Yeah, I know. The reviving thing is weird. I think it's because you're like...giving me life, and I think we're giving each other a bit of our soul, or something? I don't fuckin' know."   
Mark still feels dizzy, so he figures Jack is probably right. He stands, helping him up.   
He hears the distant sound of a rocket being shot from a rocket launcher. He pulls Jack into a hug, watches the rocket fly towards them from over Jack's shoulder. He holds him tighter, knows it will be quick but still wishes he could protect him. They could probably run, but Mark isn't sure how wide the blast radius is and Jack is at 20 health. It's nice to hug him, anyway. They don't see each other in real life often and Mark forgot how Jack buries his face into Mark's neck when they hug.   
"Meet me at the maze." He says, and it only takes a few seconds before he's back in the loading screen. 

 

Mark lands safely on the roof of the house in the middle of the maze, sees Jack's name in the sky as the boy steadily parachutes towards him. There's a pistol in the house and some bandages but nothing else. Jack eventually lands somewhere in the maze, and Mark hears him running around getting weapons. He does the same.   
After a bit of that, Mark's bringing a jar of shield up to his lips to drink it, when he hears steps to his left, and Jack's name is to the right.   
He pulls out his pistol, and the guy steps around the corner, back to Mark, and starts to hit the bushes around them, apparently looking for something. Mark's got his gun pointed at the guy, but he's frozen. There's something extremely different between playing shooting games and actually being there, holding a gun pointed at someone. He knows it's not a real person, but he can see him move, hitting the bushes with purpose.   
It doesn't take long for the guy to spot Mark, and when he does, he automatically pulls out a gun. Mark squeezes his eyes shut.   
There's two loud bangs, but Mark doesn't feel any pain. When he opens his eyes, he finds Jack standing at a space between two bushes, a shotgun in his hand. His health is lowered, but he doesn't look like he's in too much pain. He steps over to Mark and pulls him up from his crouched position.   
"Why didn't you shoot him?" He asks, then takes the dead guys assault rifle and hands it to him. Mark takes the gun with shaky hands.   
"I don't know. I just froze." He exhales shakily and Jack notices his nerves.   
"They're just animations. Not real people." Jack says, then takes the bottom of his shirt and pats at the sweat lining his hairline. Mark watches with wide eyes.  
"I have a good feeling about this round." Mark says, clearing his throat.   
"Do you think we look like ourselves to everyone else, or do we look like the fortnite characters?"   
Jack's eyebrows furrow and he laughs.   
"You almost die and that's what you think about?"  
Mark punches his arm playfully but laughs as well.   
The feeling he got while reviving him hasn't fully gone away. He feels it lingering deep down somewhere.   
While the comedic relief is nice, Jack's suddenly gasping and grabs Mark's wrist and starts to pull him through the maze. Mark doesn't have to wonder why for long, because he turns and sees the storm heading for them, the giant wall of purple right behind them.   
They navigate through the maze and out, and they don't have super far to go, but the storm seems to be faster than them.   
When it passes them, it starts to sting. Mark puts away his gun and realises he doesn't run any faster.   
The circle stops in front of them, and they burst out into safety. It hurts his eyes a bit, because of the lighting difference.   
Jack's health is at 30. Marks is at 70.   
"Do you have any heals?"   
Jack shakes his head and takes out a grenade.   
"Wha-"  
"Mark, you have to win, okay? Win for me." Jack throws the grenade and stands in front of Mark so he can't see where he threw it.   
"What? Jack?"   
Jack just smiles at him, and Mark hears one loud single gunshot, and Jack falls to the ground.   
By the time Mark pulls out a gun, the grenade explodes next to a tree and a bunch of weapons appear on the ground, whoever was over there dead.   
Jack's weapons are all over as well, but his body isn't gone like it should be.   
Mark drops his weapon and falls to the ground, rolls Jack over onto his back and pulls him close, places a hand on his cheek. He squeezes his eyes closed and tries as hard as he can, but can't heal him. It's too late. Tears spring to his eyes.   
Mark then realises Jack sacrificed himself for him, but Mark can't win without him. How could he? He's not good enough. Even if he were, he can't leave Jack in this loop until he wins alone. They need each other.   
Out of nowhere, Jack's body disappears. The warning noise for the circle sounds. Mark exhales shakily and stands up, wipes his tears away, and grabs Jack's gun and the rest of his grenades.   
Running towards the circle, Mark notices there's only 20 people left. They seemed to go quick. The circle isn't far, so once Mark gets there, he hides in the upstairs room of the first house he sees.   
At first, he's standing guard and tense, gun pointed at the door. Eventually though, he gets really nervous, and the gun starts to shake in his hands. He didn't realise how much safer he felt with Jack here. Just knowing he was there to back him up.   
He sits there for quite a while. The house ends up being in the next circle, so he's there for a bit, hearing distant gun shots and watching the people count drop one by one.   
Eventually, the circle ends up just outside of the house, but not quite in it. Mark sneaks out of the house, looking around so much it would probably make him dizzy in real life. There's a mountain to his left, and it's in the circle, so he figures having higher ground is probably better.   
When he gets to the top of the mountain, he sees the slightest bit of movement in a bush.   
He doesn't hesitate this time. It only takes three shots and the guy is dead, all of his weapons spread about. The dude had a pretty nice sniper rifle.   
Mark stands at the edge of the mountain, and watches from next to a tree. He stands still, hoping people mistake him for a patch of the long grass that's sometimes there.   
There's a fight going on on the other side of the circle, and Mark can hear lots of rockets being shot, and then the player count shoots way down to two.   
His mouth drops open. Did he seriously just get to second place by just sitting next to a tree?  
The circle shrinks to just the edge of Mark's mountain and a bit of grass area below.   
Eventually, he spots the girl, creeping in a crouched walk towards the bush just inside the circle.   
Taking out his sniper rifle, Mark aims right at her. She doesn't see him, just continues to creep slowly.   
He can't do it. He lowers the gun and stands up. Knows he can't leave Jack alone. Sure, the guy could survive and win on his own easy, but Mark would never forgive himself. How could he leave him to this hell loop?   
Mark closes his eyes, and steps off the edge of the cliff with no hesitation. 

 

"You're a fuckin' idiot."   
Mark crouch walks next to him, eyebrows furrowed.   
"I couldn't leave you here by yourself."   
"You think I can't win by myself?"   
"No! No, I just would never forgive myself. This loop sucks. Just playing this game forever until we win. I almost went insane last round sitting alone in that house just waiting for noise."   
"Well poor you, I'm so sorry you had to camp in a house while I was forced to watch and not be able to do anything!"   
Jack opens the door to the house and heads inside. Mark follows, shutting the door behind him.   
It's tense for a bit. They loot the house, but eventually there's nothing left to do but watch for people. They're inside the circle, and there's nobody around to pvp. Mark peeks over at him every once in a while, stomach churning. He hates fighting, especially with people he's close to. He wants to apologise, but he feels like that'll just make him more angry.   
"I'm sorry." Jack says, breaking the silence. He's looking out of the window, eyebrows furrowed.   
"I'm sorry too. I know you wanted me to win...I just didn't want to leave you. It was more me being selfish than anything."   
"I just don't get why you'd kill yourself so you could be stuck in this loop some more."  
"I'd rather be stuck in this loop together than be stuck alone."   
It's quiet for a beat, then Jack starts to laugh, lowering his gun from the window and pinching his nose.   
"What the fuck kind of sappy shit was that?"   
Mark laughs as well, probably blushing a bit.   
"I don't know. I blame the reviving mechanism."   
"Yeah I still feel it too. Or maybe it's just us actually in love with each other."   
They both laugh, but Mark's heart is beating a mile a minute.   
He doesn't get to wonder why for long, because then the door's opening and Mark only sees the edge of a rocket before it goes dark. 

 

"What if it's all for nothing? What if we do all of this and it turns out that winning doesn't do shit?"  
Jack runs a hand through his hair.   
"I don't know. You can't think like that. We're going to win. We play video games for a living! We just need to start thinking of a strategy rather than how to hide."   
Mark spots two guys running up the hill behind him. He and Jack don't have shit other than some pistols. He sighs dejectedly.   
"Alright then." 

 

He lands in the mostly broken down house and opens the chest, getting a gun and some bandages. They're in the least populated part of the map, just a bunch of hills and no major areas. Not even a normal house, just broken down ones and piles of cars.   
They're 11 games in, and Mark's surprised it's taken them this long to realise that going to populated areas and walking out in the open aren't very good ideas. He blames it on the fact that they are trapped in a video game. Not much time to think of strategy while trying to literally survive. His mind is all over the place.   
The circle isn't too far, so they loot in random little houses and what not for a while. They don't find much, but they both have guns so it's alright. Mark figures the next round maybe they'll find a non populated area that also has nice stuff.   
They don't talk much, mostly trying to listen and watch for people. Once they get in the circle, they crouch in some bushes.   
"Camping feels a lot less cheap in this particular situation." Mark says, and hears Jack snicker in the bush a meter or two away.   
"Yep. Speaking of cheap, I'm surprised we haven't come across any cheaters. I heard there's a lot lately."   
"Oh yeah. When it first came out there wasn't even an option to report a player, but that changed pretty quick."   
The circle gets smaller. They move to it and get in two more bushes. Playing the waiting game sucks, but they haven't seen anyone yet.   
These two bushes put them further apart, and Mark doesn't want to talk too loud and distract him from keeping watch, so they just sit and wait for the next circle.   
Mark realises that the bugs in this game are really weird. The ladybug in front of him looks cute while at the same time, something that could be in his nightmares.   
Mark finds himself looking over at Jack's bush. The bushes conceal a lot, and in addition to that, Jack's green hair blends in so well he's nearly invisible. If it weren't for his head turning to look around, Mark wouldn't even see him. Mark wonders if his hair would feel like the leaves. He then decides that was a really weird thought and he goes back to keeping watch. Jack steps out from his bush just then and quietly comes over to him.   
"Let's go up that mountain. Your hair makes the camping thing super obvious. This bush is shorter than your other one. Let's go hide in that house up there."  
Mark nods and they abandon their bushes, instead heading up the mountain to their left, where at the top is one of those 1x1 houses.  
Right when they get up to the top, the circle changes, but they are still in it.   
"Let's build some walls and stuff. It seemed to help other people."  
They build a wall around the little shack and some ramps up the inside corners so they can peek over the top. The circle starts to shrink, meaning more people will be coming in this area. There's 20 people left and they haven't seen anyone.   
Mark sits on one side of the fort, and Jack sits on the other, and they keep watch on both sides. They can hear distant gunshots, but nothing to really get worried about.   
Mark's just watching, when Jack comes up next to him. Their arms brush.   
"Do the traps hurt us if we step in them?" Jack asks quietly  
"No..." Mark replies in the same hushed tone, very aware of their arms still brushing together as they both look out over the land.   
"Alright I'm gonna edit one of the walls to a door and put the trap right below it. It's some kind of floor spikes."   
"Okay."   
When Jack heads back down, Mark bites the inside of his lip and wonders what's going on with himself. Why is he feeling so weird lately? You know, besides the fact that they were sucked into a video game.   
Mark hears Jack walking down at the grass messing with everything, and it's all good, when suddenly there's a flurry of gunshots.   
Mark drops his gun in surprise and quickly picks it back up, turning around and finding Jack standing with wide eyes at the now open door of their fort, a pile of weapons at the door.   
"Holy shit he scared me! I got him, though!"   
"Scared you?! I almost had a fucking heart attack!" Mark replies, and they laugh, closing the door to their fort and picking what they want from the guy's stuff. Jack gets a sniper rifle that's coloured purple so Mark thinks they may have a chance.   
What he didn't think, is that the next circle would be literally on their mountain, and that they'd make it to ten people left.   
"Four teams left." Jack says. They stay on high alert, watching all four sides of the fort, keeping an eye on the path to get up the mountain.   
There's some gunshots below, and the person count drops to 8. That's six other people. Mark's hands sweat, his gun shakes in his hand. The moment he spots movement below, he's shot the gun and killed someone with a headshot before he can even think. He exhales a breathy laugh, exhilarated with adrenaline.   
"Holy shit, Mark. Nice shot!" Jack says on the other side of the fort. Mark calls a thanks, not taking his eyes from the land. The circle shrinks.   
There's more gunshots on the other side of the mountain below, and the person count drops 6, 5, 4, one after the other.   
Jack gets closer to him once the circle closes in, since his side is on the edge of the mountain, there's no way someone could be alive behind them.   
Miraculously, they are once again in the next circle, which just basically covers nearly all of the top of the mountain, so the people on the paths below are going to have to leave and come up.   
"There's two more people left and I'm pretty sure they are on opposing teams." Mark says, and Jack nods.  
The circle starts to shrink, and they both spot something.   
A literal bush crouch walks up the path on the mountain towards the top.   
"What the fuck? Is that a bush with legs?"   
"I think it's a skin."   
"Thats awesome."   
The guy is dead within a minute, nothing against the two of them, especially with their fort advantage.  
Peering over their fort, they both realise the last guy has to be somewhere up here. The circle has shrunk and the next one is really small and just outside of their fort.   
They start to shoot down the trees and rocks, and also shoot into all of the bushes. They do so, and there's no sign of the guy.   
They both look at each other with furrowed eyebrows, and start to peer over the edge of their fort, making sure he's not just against the wall.   
Mark's so confused that he even looks into the air for the guy, and that's when he sees it.   
Way up in the sky is a fort, built so high up he feels a bit lightheaded imagining being up there, and he's not even scared of heights.   
Mark starts to laugh.   
"What a rookie mistake." He says, and shoots one of the ramps leading up to it. As expected, the rest of the fort falls apart, and the guy falls to the ground outside of the fort, and it's an instant death. 

At first, Mark and Jack just stand in shock, and the victory song sounds.   
"Did...did all it take was a little strategy and we could have won ages ago?"   
"Seems that way."   
They burst into laughter, and Mark drops his gun and tackles Jack to the grass at the bottom of their fort in a bear hug. Jack laughs and squeezes him back.   
"We fucking won!"   
Lifting up from the hug, Mark is suddenly aware of the fact that he's on top of Jack, and their faces are quite close. Their laughs die out, and before Mark can say anything, Jack pulls him by his shirt and presses their lips together.   
Mark gasps into the kiss but doesn't pull away, his adrenaline is far from gone. He kisses back just as desperately, but it's not a long kiss.   
They break apart, and their eyes meet once more.   
"Sean, I-I thought you were--"  
"I thought you were too!"  
They both blush. Mark feels weak in the knees, but with a quick glance down he realises it's because his knees are literally disappearing. Their bodies are both disintegrating pixel by pixel from the legs up.   
Mark kisses him once again, wishes he would have accepted those weird thoughts about him long ago so they could have done this all this time. He's ignored his weird thoughts about Jack forever, never imagining Jack could feel the same. He had ignored his own feeling so much that he could easily pretend they did exist. But here they are. He feels like he could kiss him forever.   
"Mark..." Jack whispers, eyes welling up. He doesn't need to explain why, because Mark can feel his own doing the same. Whether it be because they are finally escaping this nightmare, or because they are leaving each other, or just everything, but Mark knows exactly how he feels.   
"I know." He says, and presses their foreheads together. They stay like that, embraced together, eyes squeezed shut, feeling dizzy, until the atmosphere around Mark changes all at once, the same way it did the first time.   
He doesn't have to open his eyes to know he's back in his recording room. It's colder in here, and Mark's forehead is pressed to his desk, his stool cold against his ass, the smell of his air freshener and the sound of Chica eating from her bowl in the other room.   
Mark opens his eyes and lifts his head, blinks multiple times as he adjusts to the lighting. It's drastically different from the game's overly vibrant colours.   
Once his eyes are adjusted, he looks at his monitors in front of him. Jack seems to have disconnected, and the Fortnite home screen is up. It's pulled up on his stats, and there on the duos tab, their win is recorded with the number 1 in the "wins" section.   
Mark closes the game window, then promptly deletes Fortnite from his pc all together.   
Once that's over, Mark looks back to discord where Jack seems to be offline. Mark guesses he just shut his whole pc off. He can relate to the feeling. He will never play that game again, that's for sure, and he honestly doesn't think he really wants to play any games for a while. He figures a break will probably be good. He's got enough pre recorded videos to probably last a month or so.   
While he's feeling that, at the same time, he feels empty. He has to see Jack. He touches his lips lightly with his fingers, eyes closing as he remembers the way Jack's lips felt against his own.   
Mark stands from his desk and leaves his recording room, goes to his bedroom, and pulls out his suitcase.   
Pulling up Jack's contact, he calls him.   
"Mark, hey!" Jack answers the phone with after three rings, sounding happy as ever. Mark can relate. He finds himself smiling stupidly, feeling a bit like a teenage girl with her crush.   
"I'm booking a flight to Brighton today. That okay?" It's feels like such a normal conversation for what just happened, but the adrenaline is still pumping through Mark's veins and he just has to see him. Has to kiss him again. Watching Jack be killed and he himself dying over and over has really put things into perspective. Mark doesn't want to waste another minute.   
"Shit, man, of course that's okay. Can I ask why though? Is everything okay?" Jack's voice gets soft, worried, accent thickening. He sounds like he's asking if someone's died.   
Mark's hands slow where they've been throwing his clothes into his suitcase, his eyebrows furrow.   
"Nobody's died, Jack. I mean, after that...do, um, do you want me to come?" Mark suddenly wonders if their kiss was just the adrenaline. He wonders if Jack even feels the same. Maybe it was just the excitement of finally winning.   
"No, of course I want you to come over here, I haven't seen you in what feels like ages." Jack says with a short laugh, the one he does when he's confused. Mark continues to pack his bags and shakes his head at himself. It's only been minutes, but Mark can relate. His head is all over the place, thoughts running a mile a minute. For how calm and collected he usually is, he feels very shaky.   
"I deleted the game after about 30 seconds. I don't think I'm ever going to play it again." Mark says with a laugh. The other line is quiet for a beat.   
"What game? The one you uploaded today? I haven't watched it yet! Don't spoil me!"   
Mark's eyes furrow, and he has to think for a second to even know what game Jack is talking about. It's felt like days since he uploaded a video, but he knows it was just earlier that day. Time seemed to have not passed at all in the real world, compared to the hours they just spent in the game.   
"What? No, Fortnite, Jack, c'mon. I know your head feels all over the place, I can relate. Did you delete it? I feel sort of bad. The game was actually a good one before. Sorry your first time ever playing was--"  
"Mark..." Jack interrupts, voice low, confused, and worst of all, sounding like he's about to give bad news. Mark's stomach drops as he realises what is happening. His knees feel so week that he crouches to the floor, back against his bed. He can remember everything vividly. Every second. He can still feel Jack's lips against his own. He wants to feel them again. Mark heart beats as he wonders if he's officially gone crazy. Is he dreaming?   
Not that he needed confirmation, but Jack continues, voice calm and reassuring, as if he is talking to someone who is crazy. Reminding them of the real world.   
"Mark, I've never played Fortnite."


	2. Sequel

Jack's cleaned his house, he's so nervous.   
Having your best mate call you up and talk complete nonsense and then decide to out of the blue fly thousands of miles to come see you is concerning at the very least.   
Mark says that nobody's died, but that doesn't stop the nervous flipping of Jack's stomach. Of course, even if he never admits it out loud, he's always a bit nervous when he sees Mark in person, but they eventually fall back into their witty banter and it just feels like hanging with Mark, but something's different.   
Jack's always been a patient guy, proudly so, but all the patience in the world doesn't stop the way his foot is tapping the floor right now as he sits on his couch waiting.   
The flight was almost 12 hours, so Mark's cabbie should pull up literally any minute, depending on traffic and what not.   
It's getting quite late, and Jack recorded some more videos as he waited for Mark's flight, but 12 hours is a long time, so he had plenty of time to worry about why this is happening.   
Sure, he loves having Mark over. They hardly ever get to actually see each other with the distance and their schedules, so he's excited to see him again, but it just feels off. The way he sounded on the phone was unlike anything Jack's heard from the guy.   
He thinks back to the call, remembering how their conversation seemed pretty normal until Mark started talking about Fortnite, how they had apparently played it together. He remembers the way Mark seemed to change completely when Jack told him he'd never played it.   
He'd figured that Mark was either high as a kite, or maybe he had thought he called someone else.   
He remembers the way Mark's voice shook as he confirmed that Jack in fact hadn't played with him.   
"You're sure?" He'd asked, voice deep, yet shaky.   
"I may be forgetful, but I think I'd remember us playing a game just us. Haven't done that in a while, you know..." Jack had said, then wished he hadn't. The line had gone silent for a minute, sort of depressing. Jack had started thinking about the old days. He immediately prepared to tell a joke to lighten the mood, but Mark started talking first.   
"I need to...can I still come?"   
"Course, yeah."   
It was simple as that. Jack still has no clue what is really happening, if maybe Mark bumped his head and is going mad or something, he doesn't know. All he knows is that whatever's playing on his tv right now is definitely not distracting enough.   
What is distracting enough, though, is the sound of a car door being shut just outside.   
Jack stands up from the couch and mutes the tv, wonders if he should go outside or wait for Mark to knock.   
By the time he decides, Mark's already knocking.   
Jack opens the door, and sees something he never wanted to see at his doorstep.   
Mark's hair is a mess, the beanie not doing anything to hide that fact. He's got a rucksack over one shoulder and nothing else. But worst of all, his eyes are puffy and he's clearly been crying.   
"Shit, Mark, come in." He says, pulling him inside. Mark sets his rucksack down with a thump and rubs his eyes with his fists.   
"Sorry I'm such a mess." He says, voice raspy. It makes the hair on Jack's neck stand up. When people are emotional around him, it makes him get emotional, especially if he knows the person, so he doesn't really know what else to do but pull Mark in for a hug.   
He doesn't seem to mind. He hugs Jack right back, forehead against his shoulder. Jack rubs his back, hoping he's being comforting.   
"It was only a few hours but we went through so much together. So much stuff that I don't know if I could tell you everything without seeming like a batshit crazy--"  
"Hey, Mark, you can tell me anything. You know that."   
Mark pulls away from the hug and doesn't look him in the eye. He rubs at his eyes again and exhales shakily.   
"I don't know why I came...I had a lot of time to think during that flight and I've decided that what happened had to have been a dream. If you don't remember us..." he trails off and shakes his head, fidgeting with his shirt. Jack realises he's nervous. It's weird, because Mark's usually really good at hiding his nerves, using them to be more creative. Now, he seems to not know what to do with himself.   
"Us what? What happened?" Jack asks, nearly pleads. Mark's been beating around the bush ever since Jack told him he never played Fortnite. Mark seems to think he doesn't remember something. Something, big, clearly.   
"We...a lot of stuff happened. So much...but there's one thing that I think was the most important part. I don't really know how to, uh, say it." Mark's still not looking at him. They are still just standing in the entranceway. Mark's still wearing his scarf and beanie. It's been a bit colder here, and Jack's glad Mark remembered that.   
"Just tell me. Do you want to sit?" Jack asks, gesturing at his couch. Mark glances at it and shakes his head.   
"No...you'll probably want me to leave after I tell you what we did." He looks away from the couch, then looks back, eyes catching Jack's. He doesn't look away, and his pupils are dilated.   
Jack feels small under his gaze. Mark steps closer, and Jack steps back, not sure why he does. His back presses against the cold wall behind him. He'd sort of forgotten that they were in his small entranceway. Mark steps closer, never breaking their eye contact.   
"I want to try to toggle your memory." He says, voice low. Jack feels goose pimples raise on his arms. He wants to say that he didn't forget anything, but he decides against it.   
"Um, okay. What are you going to do?" Jack asks, voice just as quiet. The air feels thick, and Jack suddenly wonders if Mark killed someone, but the thought feels so wrong in his head that he dismisses it immediately.   
Mark steps closer again, and they are nearly flush together. Jack notices that Mark's skin is really clear, no blemishes in sight. He wonders if Mark has some sort of skin routine, or if he just has great genes. He then realises that he notices that because Mark is leaning in, and before he can even react, they're kissing.   
It's definitely different. Jack's only kissed a guy once, on accident, but it was nothing like this. Mark's lips are crazy soft. His facial hair is scratching at Jack's own. His hands are on Jack's waist, holding him so that they're flush together.   
Jack doesn't know why he opens his mouth to deepen the kiss, or why his hands start to unravel Mark's scarf and yank it off of him, then fall into his hair, the boy's beanie getting knocked off in the process.   
He wonders if it's the fact that he hasn't been kissed in a while, especially not with this much...need.   
He wonders if it could be because it's Mark. The same Mark he idolised for years. Met by chance. An idol turned best mate.   
He doesn't have long to wonder, because then Mark's hands are lowering to his thighs, and Jack gasps in surprise when he's suddenly being lifted into the air, legs wrapping around Mark's waist as the boy holds him up against the wall.   
Something hot pangs in Jack's lower torso, and his hands tighten in Mark's hair, causing him to groan in the back of his throat.   
Then his lips are gone. Jack's eyes flutter open, confused, until then he feels Mark kissing at his neck. Jack tilts his head back against the wall, giving Mark more room to do whatever he wants. Which he does. He starts to bite at him, clearly trying to give him lovebites. Jack's hands fall out of Mark's hair, and instead grip at his upper arms, where he feels Mark's biceps are flexed, holding Jack's entire weight up with ease.   
Why that makes Jack's legs tighten around his waist, he's not sure, but Mark doesn't seem to mind. Instead, presses closer. He stops biting his neck, and his nose brushes against his cheek.   
"Please tell me you remember." He whispers, and Jack's eyebrows furrow in confusion.   
"Remember what?" He whispers back, and then feels his feet touch the floor again as Mark sets him down. Their eyes meet, and he notices that Mark's lips are darker now, shiny from their kiss. Mark searches his eyes like he's trying to find something. Jack just looks back, confused. It's quiet for a moment, and then Mark pulls away completely and runs a hand through his hair.   
Picking up his bag, his scarf, and beanie, Mark leaves the room without another word, and Jack hears the guest room door click shut.   
He wants to call after him, ask him what's happening, but Jack stays plastered against the wall, questioning his entire existence once he realises that he's hard as a rock in his pants. 

 

When Mark first opens his eyes, his first thought is that he's hungover. It takes him about ten seconds to remember he can't drink, and another ten to realise he's not in his house.   
"What the fuck?" He says out-loud, and it takes him an embarrassing amount of time to recognise Jack's spare bedroom. He blames the huge headache he's got and the fact that his eyes are stinging a bit, sensitive as if he's left his contacts in, but he hasn't.  
Sitting up, he spends a good amount of time massaging his temples and trying to remember getting to Brighton. When did he come here? What day is it? Did he seriously drink? If so, how is he alive?  
Stepping out of the bed, Mark finds his backpack on the floor. Sifting through it, he sees the normal stuff he brings on trips, but can't for the life of him remember ever packing any of it.   
Grabbing his toothbrush, he heads to the joined bathroom, figuring that he can sort it out after he brushes his teeth. 

Jack's sitting on his couch, the tv playing something on mute. He's holding a cup of coffee and just staring at the muted tv. It's really weird. Mark briefly wonders if he's dreaming.   
"Hey." Jack says, spotting him. Their eyes meet, but Jack looks away automatically, suddenly finding his coffee very interesting. It's really strange. The boy looks tired. Mark doesn't know what's happening.   
"Did I get drunk last night and not die?" Mark asks, and Jack laughs, eyebrows furrowed. It's a weird laugh. It sounds fake, almost.   
There's a weird tension. Like something has happened, but the last thing Mark remembers was uploading a video. He doesn't remember coming here or anything.   
"No, you didn't get drunk. You were definitely something, but not drunk." Jack says, shaking his head and taking a drink. Mark heads over and sits on the other side of the couch, facing in.   
"This is so weird. Last thing I remember was uploading a video. I don't remember coming here. Or backing my bags. Is someone watching Chica?"   
Jack looks at him, eyes wide. It's silent for a few seconds.   
"Yeah...Ethan's watching her. What do you mean you don't remember? You don't remember anything from last night? At all?" He sounds almost hopeful. Mark is very confused, and he needs some medicine very soon for this headache.   
"No. Did something happen? Why am I here? Not that I don't want to be, but I can't for the life of me remember planning a trip." Mark says, and it's true. He's always been able to trust his memory. He's got a pretty good one, if he says so himself, so waking up one day thousands of miles away from home at a friend's house is pretty weird.   
Jack a bit quiet, which is definitely concerning. He's looking at his coffee, eyebrows furrowed.   
"Did something happen?" Mark asks, and Jack shakes his head, then looks back at him with a smile.   
"No. Nothing really happened. Um...you decided to come over. I don't know why, actually. You were really weird. Kept talking about that game Fortnite. Then we um...went to bed. Figured we'd sleep on it."  
Mark's always been an introvert, someone who would rather observe than be the center of attention. So he's watched people, observed. He knows how people work, which is why he knows Jack is lying. 100%, but Jack looks like he could burst at any second, so Mark figures something happened last night that Jack doesn't want to talk about.   
So even though he wants to know what happened, he decides to drop it.   
"Well, if I'm here, we might as well do some collabs, yeah?"   
Jack smiles in what looks like relief, and nods. 

 

They spend the entire day recording. They play random little games together, and even film some sketches. They call Felix over and do some videos with the three of them, as well. They get a good bit of footage for each of them to split between their channels.   
At the end of the day, they are sat in Jack's living room again, watching back through their challenge video they did with Felix, and Jack's on his second beer.   
"I miss The Forest. That was like, our thing, you know?" Jack says, eyes dilated. He's a bit tipsy. It's pretty entertaining.   
"Yeah, those were fun. We should find another game like that, get back into us playing together. A whole series."   
Jack nods in agreement, then finishes his beer, setting it down. He covers his eyes with his hands and exhales shakily.   
"I can't hide shit from you. You're so genuine and nice and...you, I just can't keep lying."   
Mark pauses the playback and turns towards him.   
"You can tell me." He says, and Jack turns as well, and fidgets with his hair.   
"It was so weird. Before you flew over, you were talking about something. The game, Fortnite. You kept saying we were in the game. Talking like crazy. I told you I've never played the game and you like, got sad or something. You flew here and told me you wanted me to um...remember? You k-kissed me. We kissed for a while, and then you asked me if I remembered and when I said no you just left and went to bed. And then you woke up and I guess you forgot everything. This whole situation has been so weird I don't know what's happening anymore."   
Mark doesn't know what to say. Not remembering kissing Jack? He can't fathom the thought. Then again? He can't fathom the thought of them actually kissing at all either.   
"Did you enjoy it? The kiss?" Mark asks, then sort of wishes he hadn't, cheeks reddening.   
Jack laughs a bit, fingers picking at a loose thread on his shirt.   
"Did you?"  
"I asked first."  
"I asked second!"   
It's sort of ridiculous, and they both laugh.   
"I'm sure I did. I mean, I don't remember, but if I know myself, I know I did. I've...wondered for years what it would feel like. Even if I never admitted it. I always um, especially when we would meet, at conventions and stuff. You were always so...you. I wanted, I always wanted..." Mark sort of starts to ramble, so he stops and chews at the inside of his lip, blushing.   
Jack looks at him, smile tugging at his lips, cheeks reddening as well.   
"Me too." He says, not needing to say anything more. The boy stands, and starts to pick up the empty beer bottles. Mark stands as well, and takes the bottles from him and sets them back down. Jack turns to him with a raised eyebrow, and glances at his lips, clearly having the same idea.   
Mark's not sure who leans in first, but then they are kissing, and Jack's pushing him back on the couch, climbing on him and straddling his lap.   
Mark wishes desperately that he could remember last night, but he puts that to the back of his mind and focuses on the moment. His hands sneak under Jack's shirt and fumble with the button of his jeans. Jack hums in his mouth as Mark's hand unzips him and then finds its way into his boxers.   
It's sort of weird to hold another guy's dick. Mark gets a little pang of nervous uncertainty, but then Jack's kissing at his neck, biting him harshly to make a bruise. It hurts too good.   
Mark starts to move his hand, doing what he does to himself, figuring that should work.   
It does. Jack makes the hottest noise against his throat, and then started to unbutton Mark's jeans as well, and pulls Mark out of his briefs.   
His hand tightens when Jack starts to pull him off, which makes him make that noise again. They get into a rhythm, and the funniest thought comes to Mark's brain. He starts to chuckle, which makes Jack stop and narrow his eyes at him.   
"What's so funny?" He asks, and he's quite pretty. Sitting on top of him, eyes glossy, lips red from kissing.   
"J-Jack off." Mark says, chuckles turning into actual laughter. Jack tries to look annoyed, but starts to laugh as well. He hits Mark's chest playfully.   
"You're so fucking weird. That's all you can think of while my hand's around your dick?"   
"I'm sorry! No wait, don't leave, baby." He says, and Jack stops pretending he's getting up, and raises an eyebrow.  
"Baby? Who says I'm the baby?" He asks.   
"Um, hundreds of online fanfiction? I'm always the manly one. Do you know how many of those things say I call you baby?"   
Jack narrows his eyes at him.   
"Aside from the fact that you just admitted to reading hundreds of fanfictions, do you remember the time you said you'd suck a dick for a million dollars or even subs?"   
"Are you asking me to suck your cock?"   
"Are you offering?"   
Mark grins and picks him up, setting him down on the couch and getting on his knees. 

 

Afterwards, Jack's patting cum off of Mark's chin and his own stomach with a tissue, when Mark gets an idea.   
"You know, after everything, we should try out Fortnite. See what the fuss is all about. It must be pretty good to have caused all of this." His voice is shot. Deeper than normal. It sends a tingle down Jack's spine.   
He laughs and shakes his head.   
"Yeah, alright. Glad you can still think about games after that."   
"You love me."   
"Yeah, I do." Jack agrees. Mark grins and tangles their fingers together. They're both blushing. It's all so new. They tell each other they love each other all the time, but it's different now. A new meaning. He feels like a teenager with his first crush. They're both smiling stupidly.   
"I love you too."

 

It takes them a while to set up the game, and figure out how to get in a party, but eventually they've clicked ready, and it starts to load.   
"I wonder if friendly fire is disabled?" Jack asks, and Mark raises an eyebrow.   
"You planning something?" He asks, kicks his leg out to playfully bump their ankles together, but Jack catches it. Their legs stay tangled together. They look at each other with smiles.   
"Planning to kiss you, maybe." Jack says, and it's terribly cute. Almost disgustingly cute.   
"Only if I don't kiss you first." They both giggle.   
"Don't cut that out, Robin." Jack says, reaching for water while looking back at his monitor with a smile. There's something like butterflies in their stomachs. Nerves, maybe. Who knows. Mark looks back as well, finds that the option to cancel out of the matchmaking isn't available anymore. While he waits for it to load into the game, he clicks on the profile option, finds a scoreboard. There, in the duo wins section, is a solid 1.   
"Huh, that's weird."   
All at once, their memories come rushing in. Everything comes back. Everything that happened before. The closed water bottle Jack was just about to open falls from his hand and hits the carpet below with a thump. Their eyes meet. Mark takes Jack's hand.   
Before they can do anything, they both begin to feel nauseous. The world around them starts to darken. Change. They both know what is about to happen. They are going back in. Back into the game they had forgotten all about. They will be trapped until they win. Constantly watching each other die until they get it exactly right. Stuck in a loop.   
"Oh shit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please give me feedback in the comments below, it's all I write for 


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